A New York City youth baseball coach became emotional during an interview with Nicolle Wallace this week as he described how federal immigration agents questioned his players during a practice.
Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy founder Youman Wilder said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents approached some of his players as practice was wrapping up at Riverside Park in Manhattan’s Upper West Side late last month.
“I heard them saying, ‘Where you from? Where your parents from?’” Wilder told “Deadline: White House” on Monday, “and I just stepped in and said, ‘This is very inappropriate to ask these kids anything.’ And I said, ‘As a person who is supervising them, I’m just going to have them implement their Fifth Amendment right and not say anything to you.’”
One of the agents responded, “Oh, another YouTube lawyer,” according to Wilder, who added that the immigration officers continued to push for answers before eventually leaving.
Wilder told local news outlet West Side Rag that the agents had “ICE” on their uniforms and were armed with guns and Tasers. He cited the Constitution and prayer as two tools that helped guide his response.
“If it can happen on the Upper West Side of 72nd Street, it can happen to anybody,” Wilder told Wallace, adding: “There’s got to be a better way for the administration to deal with this. And there’s got to be a better way for people to understand their rights.”
Many nonviolent immigrants have been swept up in the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, including people outside their places of work and worship, as well as high schoolers and college students.
Wilder said his baseball program, which was founded in 2003, largely serves Black and Latino kids in middle and high school. But after the ICE interaction, few if any of the players are showing up to practice. He choked up while responding to Wallace’s question about bystanders’ reactions to the incident, expressing disappointment in onlookers who didn’t stand up for the kids.
“I’m a New Yorker, bone and bone,” Wilder said, “and we’re tough people here. But I saw cowards, and I hate to say that as somebody who loves their city.”
You can watch a clip of the interview at the top of the page.